Zoology and wildlife conservation

The lost continents

Article Abstract:

The studies of the isotopic and trace-element compositions of basalts dredged from the flanks of a Samoan island have provided evidence for traces of recycled ancient continental crust in extruded volcanic rocks. It is shown that subducted trace elements are either shortcircuited back to the surface during subduction-related volcanism or be hidden in a relatively stable place such as the subcontinental lithosphere.

An olivine-free mantle source of Hawaiian shield basalts

Article Abstract:

The unusually high nickel and silicon contents of most parental Hawaiian magmas are inconsistent with a deep olivine-bearing source, because this mineral together with pyroxene buffers both nickel and silicon at lower levels. This could be resolved if the olivine of the mantle peridotite is consumed by reaction with melts derived from recycled oceanic crust, to form a secondary pyroxenitic source.

The rapid drift of the Indian tectonic plate

Article Abstract:

The estimates of the thickness of the lithospheric plates of the different fragments of Gondwanaland around the Indian Ocean are presented. The fragments of Gondwanaland were found to be thinnest lithospere in India.